Note on Terminology58
Access to Justice
The concept of access to justice is understood as an obligation on the part of the
State to guarantee indiscriminately each individual’s right to effective redress if it is
found that their rights have been violated or need to be enforced.
Compound Discrimination
The concept of compound discrimination means that individuals from national
minorities often face discrimination on the grounds of their ethnic identity, gender,
sexual orientation, age, disability, language, religion (or belief), national or social
origin in addition to the discrimination they face as members of national minority
groups.
Judicial System
The judicial system is understood in this document as courts, tribunals, prosecution
offices, law-enforcement agencies, correctional services and enforcement agencies
(or bailiffs).
National Human Rights Institutions
National human rights institutions are understood as independent State bodies
established by law with a mandate to promote and protect human rights in a
country, and include human rights institutions established at the sub-national level.
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This Note on Terminology is intended as a guide for the general reader on how the HCNM is applying
these terms in this specific document. They are not legal definitions. These terms may be used by the
HCNM differently in other documents, depending on the context.
The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities
41